Chapter 255: Target: Kakuzu
Several months passed in a blur. It was now autumn of Konoha Year 46.
During this time, in addition to his daily experiments, Kyosuke had been leading his team on a relentless string of missions, and had even taken on several high-difficulty missions on his own. The rewards had been substantial. He had invested all of the experience he had gained into his "Sage Body," raising it to level 6. At this stage, he could now use Wood Release ninjutsu on par with Yamato.
But even more importantly, he had completely eliminated the risk of Hashirama cell rejection. The freed-up chakra had restored his strength to its peak state.
There were, however, a few setbacks. First, he had discovered that while his current level of Sage Body was sufficient to replenish the power of his dōjutsu, it was not yet enough to reawaken his blind Mangekyo. He would have to continue to be patient. The "Eye Creation" plan would also have to be accelerated.
Second, he was broke. Again. The simultaneous running of multiple experiments had drained the funds he had acquired from Rasa like water through a sieve. The results had been promising, but it was still a source of considerable frustration.
The income from his missions was no longer enough to cover his experimental costs. In addition to continuing to gain experience, his most pressing need was to find a way to make money, a lot of money.
And so, his gaze fell upon the shinobi world's long-standing black market bounty stations. He was confident he would find his answer there.
In a small town not far from the Fire Temple, a figure cloaked in black was discreetly observing a remote public restroom, watching everyone who went in and out. This was the location of the bounty station in the Land of Fire. From time to time, ninja would come here to collect missions or cash in their rewards. Most of them were rogue ninja, but there were also a surprising number of official shinobi from the five great villages.
The cloaked figure's mission was simple: to monitor this location and wait for his target to appear.
A man with a masked face and a dark cloak was walking down the town's mottled road, his destination the remote public restroom. This was Kakuzu, a former elite shinobi of the Waterfall Village, and a future member of the Akatsuki.
He hitched the burlap sack on his shoulder, his eyes subtly scanning his surroundings.
The town is crawling with watchers. I wonder what's going on, he thought with a silent chuckle.
Confident in his own abilities, he continued on, unconcerned. He trusted the security of the bounty station, and he feared no threat.
Kakuzu was a man who was said to have "lived as long as heaven and earth." He possessed the secret technique "Earth Grudge Fear," which allowed him to use the dark, thread-like tendrils that made up his body to steal the hearts of others and incorporate them into his own, extending his life and granting him their abilities. Each stolen heart could act independently and use the original owner's jutsu.
In a way, he, like Orochimaru, had achieved a form of immortality.
Kyosuke had often wondered just how powerful Kakuzu could become if he were to steal the hearts of truly powerful shinobi. If he had the hearts of Tobirama Senju, the Raikage, and Might Duy... the course of shinobi history might have been very different.
But for all his age and experience, Kakuzu's strength was, in the grand scheme of things, not that impressive. While he was certainly a top-tier Kage-level shinobi, he was no match for the monsters that would appear in the later stages of the original story.
And that was why Kyosuke had set his sights on him.
The watchers that Kakuzu had detected, including the cloaked figure outside the bounty station, were all Kyosuke's secret clan guards. Their mission was to inform him the moment Kakuzu appeared.
Then, he could use Kakuzu to acquire the massive amount of funding he needed for his laboratory.
On a remote cliff in the Land of Fire, Kyosuke and Saori were in the middle of a tense experiment.
After a rapid series of hand signs, Saori slammed her hand onto the curse mark on the cloned test subject.
"Sealing Technique: Curse Sealing Method!"
As she performed the jutsu, a strange pattern of seals began to surround the "Caged Bird" mark, attempting to sever its connection to the chakra network. The "Caged Bird" thrashed violently, but it could not escape the binding seals.
Everything was proceeding smoothly. Just as Saori was beginning to feel a surge of triumphant joy, Kyosuke, who had been monitoring the data, suddenly shouted, "It's not working!"
Before she could ask what was wrong, the "Caged Bird" mark's struggles intensified, and it broke free from the sealing jutsu, completely destroying the brain cells of the cloned test subject.
The experiment was a failure.
"Sigh," Saori let out a breath, her disappointment quickly replaced by a steely resolve. "Again."
"Right."
But before they could begin again, a knock came at the door. Kyosuke's expression flickered. He had given strict orders not to be disturbed during his experiments unless it was a matter of utmost urgency.
He told Saori to wait and stepped out of the lab. The assistant informed him that Kakuzu had been spotted.
"Excellent! Finally!" The good news instantly dispelled the gloom of the failed experiment.
He returned to the lab and told Saori the news. The two of them began to plot how they would "persuade" Kakuzu to part with his life's savings.
"From what I know, the man is obsessed with money. Ordinary methods probably won't work on him," Kyosuke said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Crack." Saori clenched her fists, a wicked grin on her face. "Then we'll just have to use extraordinary methods."
They exchanged a look and burst into a strange, unsettling laughter.
The unfortunate Kakuzu had no idea of the disaster that was about to befall him.
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